The technical field of the invention is that of digital electronic thermostats. Digital electronic thermostats are known in the art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,872 entitled "Electronic Thermostat" issued to Micheal Levine on June 10, 1980. These digital electronic thermostats typically employ a semiconductor switching element to control the application of electric power to a temperature modification apparatus, such as a heating unit or an air conditioning unit. Typically a triac or one or more silicon controlled recitifiers are employed as this semiconductor switching element.
There exists a problem with the use of such semiconductor switching elements. These semiconductor switching elements carry considerable electrical current and can generate a great deal of heat. The generation of heat is incompatable with the measurement of ambient temperature as required by a thermostat. The heat generated by the semiconductor switching element often caused inaccuracies in the temperature measurement. These inaccuracies effect the maintence of a stable temperature in the building or room in question. Thus there is a need for a technique to reduce, eliminate or compensate for the self heating inherent in these digital electronic thermostats.